Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges over UnitedHealthcare CEO killing

Luigi Mangione has pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges over the killing of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, telling a court in Manhattan that he shot Thompson and knew his actions were illegal.

The 28-year-old entered his plea before Judge Margaret Garnett of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) on 14 August 2026. He faces sentencing on 18 December, with prosecutors expected to seek a life term.

Thompson, 50, was shot dead in Manhattan on 4 December 2024 outside a UnitedHealthcare investor conference. The killing prompted a nationwide manhunt and drew sustained public attention to the US health insurance industry.

Guilty plea and courtroom account

Reading from a prepared statement, Mangione told the court he had endured years of severe pain from a broken back and had struggled with the health insurance system before learning that UnitedHealthcare planned to hold its annual investor conference in New York in December 2024.

He said he researched the event, then travelled from outside New York state to Manhattan and emailed UnitedHealthcare leadership posing as an investor at a firm managing more than US$50 billion in assets, in order to obtain information about the conference.

Mangione said he had used a 3-D printer to make part of a gun and had fitted it with a silencer and magazine before travelling to New York. "On the morning of December 4, 2024, I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan and he died," he told the court, adding that he "knew what I was doing was illegal".

Defence lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo told the court she was not aware of any valid defence that would prevail at trial, and prosecutor Dominic Gentile raised no additional questions. Mangione then formally entered his guilty plea to the two federal counts against him.

Sentencing outlook

There is no plea agreement between Mangione and federal prosecutors, meaning no fixed sentencing range has been agreed. Judge Garnett told Mangione that federal sentencing guidelines suggest a term of about 24 to 30 years, but that she is not bound by those guidelines and may consider other factors.

Former federal prosecutor Berit Berger told CNN that a life sentence, or something close to it, remains "very likely" despite the plea. She said the judge could weigh conduct beyond the stalking charges themselves, including events in the days before and after the shooting.

Another former federal prosecutor, Elliot Williams, said federal judges retain broad discretion at sentencing, "up to life in prison". Two federal charges that had carried the possibility of the death penalty were dismissed by the court earlier in the case.

State charges challenge

Mangione also faces a separate New York state case, which had been due to go to trial in September. Following the federal plea, his lawyers filed a motion seeking to dismiss most of the state charges on double jeopardy grounds.

The state indictment includes one count of second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree weapon possession, three counts of third-degree weapon possession, and one count of fourth-degree weapon possession. A separate charge of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, relating to an alleged fake identification document, was not included in the dismissal motion.

Two terror-related murder charges and an additional weapons charge, originally part of an eleven-count indictment, had already been dismissed by the presiding state judge.

Friedman Agnifilo said Mangione had "accepted full responsibility for the death of Brian Thompson" and argued that pursuing both federal and state prosecutions over the same conduct amounted to punishing him twice. A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said prosecutors were "prepared to litigate the defence motions".

A separate case in Pennsylvania, tied to Mangione's arrest, has remained inactive while the federal and New York state proceedings continue.

Reaction

Thompson's mother, widow and other relatives attended the hearing and were visibly emotional as Mangione spoke. In a statement afterwards, the family called the plea "an important step toward justice" and said they would continue seeking justice ahead of the state murder trial.

New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the plea as "an important moment of accountability". US Attorney for the SDNY, Jamie McDonald, told reporters that "there can be no celebrity in assassination".

The case has drawn polarised public reaction. Some supporters gathered outside the Manhattan courthouse under heavy security, with one shouting in support of Mangione as Thompson's relatives left the building.

Background to the case

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on 9 December 2024, following a tip from staff at a McDonald's restaurant after a days-long manhunt. Prosecutors said he had travelled to New York by bus from Atlanta roughly ten days before the shooting.

He is alleged to have checked into a Manhattan hostel using false identification, before carrying out reconnaissance near Thompson's hotel and the conference venue. Items recovered following his arrest reportedly included a handgun, a silencer, and a written checklist referencing surveillance-related tasks.